Step Right Up
by Nora Winters
Summary: Two wondering boys meet a master salesman, or something, and history is made.


"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. See for yourselves the wonders of these little bars. You need to try it to believe it. I want to sell you Madam Marigold's marvelous miracle bars. Why, this is the most wonderful cleaning product in the world – it cleans everything. It'll heal your cuts, keep off ticks and other biting insects, keeps your skin baby soft and wrinkle free. Well, you can see it's just too amazing to be called soap. What? You say, it can't be true; that I'm just trying to sell you a two-bit bar of soap for a dollar? Well, tell you what, I am so convinced that you will love this product and be as amazed as I am that I have a proposition for you. As you can see, as we speak, I'm wrapping bars for you to buy. Now, here in my hand I have a genuine twenty-dollar bill. Watch me fold it and wrap it. In these bars behind me I've wrapped some with one dollar bills, and some with five dollar bills, and here's the one I just wrapped. Of course, it's a sporting proposition folks. I wouldn't be honest with you if I didn't tell you that not all the bars have any bills wrapped with them. So you may just get a bar of the most wonderful cleaning product available for your dollar – but surely that's worth it. And you have the chance to get your money back or more." The man paused in his spiel, drew breath, waited for the right moment, then… "Step right up, who'll be first?"

He looked over the crowd as they surged towards him and saw two boys, standing to the side, watching. They had the hungry, scruffy look of youngsters on their own that he had seen in too many towns out here. "Go west, young man," indeed, he snorted. The two studied him and the crowd thronging up to try their chances. He shook his head and returned his focus to selling the bars. When he looked back up, they were gone.

~~~oOo~~~

He quietly packed up his cart, preparing to leave – heading towards the next small town, the next set of marks. As he did, the two boys he'd noticed before approached.

"Mister," the blond asked, "can we buy a bar of your soap?" He and his friend dug through their pockets and carefully counted out enough change then held it out to him on their grimy palms. He watched as they counted and noted they had one dime left over.

"Sorry, boys, I'm done for the day. Everyone is gone. Go on home."

They ignored this. "Please, Mister, just one bar."

"Why this one, boys? You can get cheaper soap at the dry goods store down the street there."

"Yeah," agreed the dark-haired, older boy. "We could, but here we have a chance of getting our money back and then some. I know the odds are we won't, but some chance is better than none, and we need the money – and the soap."

Something about these two kept the huckster's attention. He looked around. "Don't you have soap at home?"

"Don't have any homes. But we do just fine on our own," the dark-haired one declared defiantly. His blond companion nodded, although he didn't look as convinced.

The man sighed and stared over their heads for a moment. Finally, "Tell you what, boys, if you agree to work for me for a bit, I'll tell you my secret. The pay's not much but I could use a couple of helpers, and I'll feed you, too."

The boys looked at each other in silent communication, then turned to him and held out their hands. "Deal," they said in unison.

He shook their hands and smiled. "I'm Soapy Saunders, boys, and welcome to my world."

"Heyes," the older boy reciprocated. "And he's Jed, Jed Curry. But we still want to buy a bar of soap."

Soapy reached into a pocket and pulled out a quarter. "The first thing I want you to do is go buy yourselves a bar of soap over at the emporium. Any money left over is yours – an advance on your pay." He held up a hand as they opened their mouths. "No back talk. You work for me now. See how fast you can do that then meet me outside the town to the north. I don't want anyone to see you joining me."

~~oOo~~

The three made camp by a stream. The boys helped him unpack his cart and he made them all dinner. As he watched them mop up the last of the meal he smiled ruefully.

The two caught his look and turned to each other in consternation. The dark-haired boy squared his shoulders. "Look, we'll leave if you're having second thoughts."

The blond dug into his pockets and held out a quarter. "Here's your money back. You don't owe us nothin' and, and we gotta get goin'."

The two stood up, hunched their shoulders, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. What's the rush? I said you work for me; you two having second thoughts?"

"Nossir."

"No."

"Good, glad that's settled." He indicated they should sit back down. Once they were seated he resumed, "Now, I'm going to tell you why folks call me Soapy."

He grinned. "You work for me now, and it wouldn't be right if you spilled my secrets. You understand that, don't you?" Soapy looked each in the eye until each boy nodded his solemn agreement.

"All right. I wouldn't sell you a bar of soap because you can buy the same soap for less than five cents a bar." He held up a hand as the boys opened their mouths. "I also don't sell any bars wrapped with five or twenty dollar bills, and I make sure there're no more than two or three that go out wrapped in ones." He smiled. "With you two as my shills, I can pretend to sell you a bar that will have a five-dollar bill. I'll sell even more that way."

"But, but, we saw you. We watched real carefully and saw you put that bar with the twenty in the pile you were sellin'," stated Curry, his brows drawn together in confusion.

"No, son, you just thought you did. All my talking was just obfuscation, so I could pocket the twenty before I wrapped the bar. That's how I can sell five cent soap for a dollar. That, my boys, is the world of the con – making the suckers – marks – believe they are getting something for nothing. Just remember for yourselves, if a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is." He smiled and looked at his new protégés.

They thought for a moment, looked at each other, and smiled back.


End file.
